A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Sharing the gospel and discipling others energizes and refreshes the Christian. It's not going to just help them; it's going to help you. If you don't have an outlet for what you're taking in, you're going to grow lazy, spiritually fat, and lethargic. You need a new believer in your life, right?

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie points out the Lord wants us to model the Christian life for those younger in the faith. We have to pass it on. It's one of the greatest joys we can know.

Ever searched YouTube for "how to help" and found some guy fixing a leaky faucet with nothing but a sock and a taco shell? Somehow it worked, and you watched the whole thing. Why? Because we learn by watching someone else do it first. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie explains it's the same with the Christian life. We help people find Jesus and show them how to follow Him. Think of this as your spiritual how-to video. No taco shell required.

Greg Laurie: God has called every believer to preach the gospel and make disciples. That means you, that means me, we're all called to do this. This is why we call it the Great Commission and not the Great Suggestion. So, there are two primary passages we look to. The first is in Mark chapter 16, verse 15, where Jesus says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person."

And now we have the version we're going to focus on in this message, Matthew 28, and verse 18. Jesus says, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them," I would underline that, "teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you, for lo, I am with you even to the end of the age."

Listen to this. You should either be discipling or be being discipled. You should be discipling someone or they should be discipling you, and sometimes you can do both at the same time. You say, "I don't even know what you're talking about." To disciple someone means that you take them under your wing and you become a friend to them. You don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to be an expert on all of the Bible. I think you know the Bible better than you may think you know the Bible and you just haven't been challenged to put it to use yet.

But you need to model for them what a Christian looks like. So they're a brand-new believer, they need to see what Christians do, not just sitting in church. Because some things are taught and other things are caught. There's only so much that I or Pastor Jonathan or anyone else standing behind this pulpit can do from this position. We can teach certain ideas and principles, but they have to catch things by observing a Christian in real life. How do Christians drive? This is why I never have new believers drive with me anywhere, because I drive too slow. I don't want to frustrate them too much.

But the truth is, let them see how a real Christian lives. This is very important for them. And I had someone do this for me, and I'm eternally grateful to him. His name was Mark. So I'm a brand-new believer. I came to Christ on a high school campus. Nobody told me what I just did. Nobody said, "Hey Greg, here's a new believer's Bible." It hadn't been written yet. Well, the Bible had been written, but this particular version hadn't been written. "Read this, it'll help you." No one gave me that.

No one said, "Greg, go to church on Sunday." No one said, "Greg, you need to pray now. Hey, hang out with me." No one said anything to me, and I could have fallen through the cracks so easily. But this guy I didn't know from Adam's housecat, he comes up, "Hi, I'm Mark. Is your name Greg?" "Yeah, it is." "Yeah, well I saw that you prayed the other day and asked Christ to come into your life." I'm a little defensive. "Yeah, so?"

"No, that's great. That's wonderful. Okay. Yeah, you know what Greg, why don't you come to church with me?" "No thank you." "No Greg, I want you to come to church with me. I want to take you to church." "No, I don't want to go." "Oh, there's this church called Calvary Chapel. There's all kinds of young people there and the place is overflowing and you gotta come check this out." I said, "No, no, I don't want to go." He goes, "Yeah, where do you live?" I said, "No, no, I don't want to go to church with you." "When shall I pick you up?" Next thing I know, I'm in his car on my way to church. I commend that guy for not taking no for an answer. Right?

Be persistent. Don't just give up. No, no, you gotta come, man. Ask them again, ask them again. So he takes me to church and my life literally changed, and you couldn't get me out of the place after that because I just wanted to learn as much as I could. When Mark said, "Hey, come on over and meet my family," now I'd never been with a family like this. I came from a broken home, my mom's an alcoholic, I never had a dad.

And I'm sitting at a table with a mom and a dad and the children, eating a meal, you say grace before the meal. I thought this is only on television, right? No, it was real. They were a real Christian family. And after we had dinner, "well let's talk about the Bible." And I'm hearing things for the first time, it's literally blowing my little 17-year-old brain. Like, I can't believe this stuff is true. I needed someone to model it for me, and you can be that person for someone else.

You can be that discipler, and not only can you be, you've got to be because it's not going to just help them; it's going to help you. Sharing the gospel and discipling others energizes and refreshes the Christian. You know, sometimes as we've walked with the Lord for a period of time, we may say, "I'm feeling kind of lethargic spiritually. I feel like, what do I need to do now? I don't have the excitement I had before and the passion. I actually feel a little bit spiritually dry."

What's wrong with me? Now let me say something that might surprise you from a preacher. There can come a point where you literally don't need more Bible study, though you probably always do in one sense. But that's not what it is. What it is is you need an outlet for what you're taking in. Let's just say you ate a big meal. We'll use Thanksgiving as an example. That day when all of America commits the sin of gluttony together.

And I love Thanksgiving food once a year. I don't know why I never have it any other day of the year. And my wife Kathy owns the Thanksgiving meal. I'm telling you, I've had Thanksgiving in other homes, it's fine and I don't want to offend anyone in case I came to your house. But my wife does it better than you. I'm just telling you she does. Starting with the turkey, she cooks it perfectly. Turkeys are so tricky. They can end up too dry, she gets it just right, crispy on the outside.

And then the stuffing. I don't like mushy stuffing. She does the cornbread stuffing, it has a little crisp on it. Then she—is this making you hungry? Then there's the sweet potatoes and she melts marshmallows on them, and they're really good. And then we have, you know, potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy and the rolls. And then I think it's a law in America, you can only eat pumpkin pie afterwards. Some people, some have mincemeat pies made in it. That's rubbish. But I guess it deserves to exist somewhere.

But anyway, but how do you feel after you've eaten this wonderful meal? You feel like you want to go into a food coma. So you fall asleep and you wake up and what do you do? "Let's have a turkey sandwich," right? So you go in for round two. But here's my point. If you just eat and eat and take in and take in and don't have an outlet for what you're taking in, you're going to grow lazy, spiritually fat, and lethargic. You need a new believer in your life, right?

An older believer needs a younger believer because they will energize you, and the younger believer needs an older believer because you will stabilize them. You need each other. This is what discipling is all about and this is part of the Great Commission. And you know, I liken it to going to Disneyland. It's a lot different to go to Disneyland with adults than it is to go with children. I've always found it's more enjoyable with children to see it through their eyes.

Because when you go with adults, it's different. They complain more. It's too expensive, the lines are too long. It's too hot, it's too cold. Is there something called "Napland" here that I could go to? A lot of this ride isn't realistic. I mean, there's rides now in Disneyland I used to go to when I was a kid and now I don't want to go on anymore. Recently I went on the Matterhorn. I thought I was going to have to get back surgery afterwards.

I'm thinking, is there suspension in this thing? It's insane, it hurt. And even the mild roller coasters like that Mickey Mouse roller coaster, I don't know what they call it over at California Adventure. I used to think that's my kind of roller coaster, not too crazy. Now it's too crazy. Now I don't want to go on that anymore. So it changes. But when you're a kid, a kid enjoys it. And my son Christopher, I used to take him there along with his brother Jonathan.

And one year we went and we're standing in Main Street and they had the big parade. And there was a movie out years ago, some of you may remember, called The Rescuers, and there's this big giant bird that flaps his wings. And so this bird's flying, running down Main Street. It's a man in a bird costume, obviously. I'm not deluded. Okay. So he's running down and I'm watching him, I'm standing there with Christopher.

And he starts coming toward me. I said, "Kathy, he's coming in my direction." "No he isn't." He's coming closer, closer, closer. Finally, he comes right up to me and throws these giant bird wings around me. And I'm face up to the little screen and he says, "Praise the Lord, Greg." I'm like, "Whoa, there's a Christian in the bird!" He says, "I go to your church." "Oh, that's great. Hey, you want to see me afterwards and meet some of the other people that are characters?"

"Sure." He takes me behind the scenes at Disneyland. I'm thinking this is going to be amazing for my son until they started taking their heads off. Christopher is just this little guy, tiny little guy. And he sees Donald Duck take his head off. "Keep moving! Do not loiter!" Okay, he takes Donald Duck's head off and there's a man inside and he's just freaking out. I'm thinking I've just traumatized my son.

So maybe it wasn't so magical that time. But in general, it's a wonderful thing to see it through a child's eyes, you see? Now there's a lot of adults that like to go with other adults, some even dressing up like Disney characters. They even have a name for them—weirdos. But no, they call them "Disney adults." Okay, whatever. I'm just saying this. I personally find it more enjoyable to take a child with me.

Now apply that to church. I come to church and I have all of my complaints. You know, it's too hot here, it's too cold here. This church is too big, this church isn't big enough. The music's too loud, the music's not loud enough. I don't like this, I don't like that, etc., etc. Bring a new believer with you and rediscover it through their eyes. As they hear these truths that you've heard so many times for the first time and you watch it revolutionize their life, it will re-revolutionize your life, right? Or bring a non-believer with you. Oh my, you'll be praying, "Oh Lord, help Greg not mess up like he normally does. Oh, I pray he gives an invitation. I pray he calls a person to Christ. I want my friend to come to Christ." Yeah, well it changes.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Guest (Female): We love hearing from our listeners, whether it's a short word or they take some time to tell us what's going on with them. We read every word. Hi, Pastor Greg. Our son Tanner was baptized at Pirate's Cove on August 16th. He attended the Harvest Crusade in Boise, Idaho, a couple of years ago. We praise God for all He's doing in Tanner's life. Thank you for all you do.

Guest (Male): Do you have a story to share with Pastor Greg? If so, would you let him know? Send him an email: Greg@harvest.org. That's Greg@harvest.org. Glad you're along today for Pastor Greg's message, "Jesus and the Great Commission."

Greg Laurie: Years ago I was in North Carolina at what is called the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. Billy was still alive and we would do little teaching sessions there and he was there that night. And a friend of mine named John said, "Would you introduce me to Billy Graham?" I said, "Sure." We walked over. I said, "Billy, this is my friend John." And John extends his hand, shakes Billy's hand, he says, "Mr. Graham, I want to thank you for all of your years of faithfulness to the Lord."

And Billy looked at him and said, "I wished I'd done more." I never forgot that. I thought if Billy Graham wished he'd done more, where does that leave the rest of us? And I don't think he was trying to put out a fake humility. He really meant it—I wished I'd done more. But I just thought that was a powerful testament. You know, in this day when from time to time we hear of a spiritual leader falling, we never celebrate the thousands and thousands who never fell and served God faithfully to the very end.

But having said that, it is a wonderful thing when you see a man or a woman of God start and finish their Christian race well. And we can rejoice in that. And that's what we all should want in our lives. We want to finish our race well. The Christian life is like a race, many times the Bible says. And if it is a race, and it is, it's a long-distance run and it's also a relay race. So we have the baton.

I'll use this microphone as a baton. So I run for my time, and when my time is up, I pass the baton on to the next runner who takes it and then they run with it for a time and then they too pass the baton on. And the baton is the gospel. Each generation has the gospel. We take it through our generation like it said of David—he served God in his own generation and fell asleep and he was buried.

We want to do this well and we want to finish well and we want to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." One day you'll give your final words. What will they be? I don't know. You may know they're your final words and you may not. Heard a story of an opera singer who was performing and he was on the top of a ladder for his song and he sang these words: "Too bad you only live for so long."

And then he had a heart attack and died on the stage. It was sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. But one day we'll give those last words. I think of young Stephen, the first martyr of the early church, who was being stoned for his faith and he prayed, "Lord, don't hold this against them." And then he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And the Bible says he fell asleep. What an interesting way to describe a man dying a violent death.

But actually it's the perfect way to describe it because this phrase "falling asleep" is only used to describe the death of a Christian, never a non-Christian. Do you fear falling asleep? I look forward to falling asleep. I was watching an interview with a famous actor the other day and the interviewer said, "What's your greatest fear?" He said, "Not being able to take my nap." I had to laugh out loud.

He says, "Well you know, if I'm on a shooting a film or something and I just hope I have time to go take my nap. I like to take like a 10-minute nap." I thought that's funny. But we don't fear it, we fall asleep, we enter the presence of the Lord. That's the hope we have. Life with Jesus is endless hope. Life without Him is a hopeless end. And then comes the afterlife. I decide in this life where I will spend the afterlife.

Coming back to this statement of Jesus, "Whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." How could a God of love send someone to hell? He doesn't. You send yourself there by the decision you make. The last thing a loving God in heaven wants is for anyone made in His image to spend eternity separated from Him in a very real place called hell. It is God's desire that we all join Him for all eternity in heaven, but He gives you a choice in the matter.

You choose and you either choose for Him or against Him. So I want to close by offering you that choice. Maybe you're here today, you were brought by a friend. That's a very good friend if they brought you to church, by the way. And you're hearing these things for the first time, you've never heard any of this before. But you thought, "Wow, I always thought if I'm a good person I'll go to heaven."

No, you have to be a forgiven person. You have to turn from your sin and ask Christ to come into your life. And Jesus who died on that cross and rose from the dead and gave His final words and ascended to heaven now stands at the door of your life and He knocks and says if you'll hear His voice and open the door, He will come in. Would you like Christ to come into your life?

Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like a fresh start in life? Do you want to go to heaven when you die? Then say yes to Jesus. You say, "Okay, how do you do that?" Through prayer. So we're going to close in prayer and I'm going to give you an opportunity to put your faith in Christ if you haven't done that yet. Let's all pray. Father, thank you for your word to us. Thank you for your love for us. And I pray for any person right now who has never put their faith in you. Maybe they're here and maybe they're watching online or I don't know where they are. But help them to see their need for you right now and help them to come to you and believe. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with important counsel today here on A New Beginning. And if you'd like to make a change in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg would like to help you with that right now.

Greg Laurie: I would like to just pray a prayer and I would ask you to pray it after me. You might even pray it out loud. Pray these words: Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I also know that you are the Savior because you died on the cross for my sin and you rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my life and forgive me of every sin I've ever committed. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer, Lord, and I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you just prayed that prayer and meant it, I want you to know on the authority of scripture, God Almighty has heard your prayer and He will answer this prayer. You are now a newly minted child of God. So congratulations, you've made the right decision and welcome to the family of God. I want to send you a special gift because of that prayer you've just prayed.

It's called the New Believer's Bible. So the New Believer's Bible is the New Testament in the New Living Translation with hundreds of notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you are making to follow Christ. There's some other materials included as well in what we call the New Believer's Growth Pack, but let me get this New Believer's Bible into your hands as quickly as possible. Here's Dave to tell you more.

Dave: Yeah, you can get it by calling us anytime around the clock at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or if you'd like, just go online to Harvest.org and click "Know God."

And then, thank you for partnering with us to help these daily studies continue. Your investments have eternal benefit. Why not make this a part of your personal ministry to partner in an effort that's making a real difference with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online, you'll find us at Harvest.org and there you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now.

That's Harvest.org. Or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call, again at 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time Pastor Greg takes us into the sequel to our Jesus and You series. We've studied Jesus in the New Testament. Next time, where we can find Jesus in the Old Testament. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.